Novak Djokovic battles past Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach Paris Masters final

The Serb dropped a set for the first time this week against the Greek world number five

Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets (Michel Euler/AP) (AP)

Novak Djokovic is one win away from a seventh Paris Masters title after battling past Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the final.

Djokovic dropped a set for the first time this week against the Greek world number five.

But the Serbian still extended his winning streak against Tsitsipas to eight matches with a 6-2 3-6 7-6 (4) victory.

Djokovic will face unseeded Danish teenager Holger Rune, who was a surprisingly comfortable 6-4 6-2 winner against in-form Canadian eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, in Sunday’s final.

Meanwhile, world number one Carlos Alcaraz has announced he will miss the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup through injury.

The US Open champion, 19, withdrew from his quarter-final against Rune in Paris with an abdominal problem and has now brought his stellar season to a premature end.

He wrote on Twitter: “After my withdrawal yesterday and having been evaluated by my medical team, unfortunately this is the result of my injury: an internal oblique muscle tear in the left abdominal wall with an estimated recovery time of six weeks.

“Unfortunately I won’t make the ATP Finals or the Davis Cup Finals. It is tough and painful for me to miss these two events, which are so important to me, but all I can do is be positive and focus on my recovery. Thank you for the support!”